But let's make this about more than this particular story. Is there a need for sex columnists in general? Are we wasting our journalistic resources by over-covering this salacious subject (especially when Dan Savage has already answered every possible sex-related question)?
Do media outlets focus on sex because it will attract attention or because there is a legitimate service being provided to the audience?
13 comments:
I think at this point kids can learn anything. Having another sex column shouldn't be so jarring considering most media that come out these days are over-sexualized anyway. Advertisements, Bond movies, sex is just a thing that human beings are intrigued by. I don't think we necessarily need MORE columns but the internet is literally teeming with information and with a subject as subjective as sex, why not have more info out there? People shouldn't pretend to be so prude.
"Do media outlets focus on sex because it will attract attention, or because there is a legitimate service being provided to the audience?"
I think it is both. Sex has been widely used as a beacon for people, especially men, to find their way into the cash register. On the other hand, some sex columnists try to pave a path for people to be informed about their own sexuality...and there are some who are just attention whores like this
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This is a strange column. First of all it is a rip off. She obviously read up on controversies caused by public sex and went with the Opie and Anthony, "Sex for Sam" scandal. The whole religious book thing gave it away - that was obviously inserted just to piss people off and generate comments. My bet, no way did she do all of these things, at best she pulled her pants down in an empty class room.
The Daily Californian is clearly just trying to sell newspapers and/or create a buzz. They are going for the reader who likes those fiction stories in men's mags I guess. It lacks authenticity, credibility, and it's not verifiable. The column serves no sincere purpose. There is no shortage of ideas on where to have public sex nor is there any need to increase public sex. This story would be much more suited for the writer's own blog.
That being said, the paper did clearly have the piece on the Opinion page and I understand the need to put entertaining content in the paper to gain readers. But this stunt is just not clever enough. It's blunt and crude. A better method to put her sex fantasies in print that would serve a public purpose would be to identify areas on campus that are lacking in security. Make that the reason for having sex in that place and publish it to prove the point of a school security problem. I'm not saying that is the best way to prove the point but it would be clever and helpful to the student readership.
I do not think that there is the need for sex columnists in general and we are wasting our journalistic resources this way because the media, TV shows, advertisements, movies that come out these days are over sexualized anyway and so we do not need more of these columns. And I think media outlets do focus on sex becausethey think it will attract more people's attention.
I think that sex in journalism is something that is contemporary, and something that will likely not go away. While the subject was at one time taboo, that time is gone and I think with each passing generation we become more and more open to hearing details about everything. That being said, not everyone feels that way. Therefore, I think when writing about sex in journalism, it treads a fine line. I definitely think that writing about sex sells, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. I think that when talking about sex in journalism, however, it should be in more general terms and not airing out your dirty laundry, as it appears this girl has done. The journalist must be careful to only expose information about themselves, and not their partners or anyone who does not wish to be exposed. That is unethical, I feel. We here at Temple here have seen firsthand the uproar sexual columns can hold via a Temple News column about a woman's menstrual cycle going viral. Therefore, I think sex columns are okay, but the journalist must be a good judge about what information they are revealing and the tone with which they are revealing it in.
In regards to whether a service is being provided, I think it depends on the content of the column. There are definitely some that are specifically to answer peoples questions and provide information that people are seeking about sex. This is obviously a broad topic because everyone has different sexual interests...what some people consider relevant and helpful information may be unnecessary, strange or even offensive to others. As long as there is an audience that benefits from the information, I think there is a service being provided. This particular column, however, is about this college student's personal sex life, offering entertainment, not information. The column is blog-style, in a way, being very conversational and informal. I think this type of column is becoming overdone; sex is supposed to be exciting and attention-grabbing, which is why columns like this exist, but it's not anymore! There are so many variations of this type of writing that it's not a novelty to read at all, and I would be much less inclined to call this journalism in the first place because there isn't legitimate research involved, judging by the content of the article. It's a recount of personal experiences; she didn't ask any other students whether they'd had sex in campus buildings like the library, so her article doesn't represent the student body, but only herself. I have no problem with this writer publishing articles about her sex life, but I think it would be better in a blog than in a column.
I know I'm a little late to this one, but I just read the whole article, and it made me really want to comment here. I personally think that the article is completely stupid. If someone wants to go and recreate all of the scenes that the author wrote of, then by all means, go for it. Even just that one article isn't so bad (although it is still stupid and not journalism). But to have an entire column on it? Jeez. The problem with this article is NOT a woman having sex (oh no!!), it's that the article is not educational and not journalism. She can call herself "expressive," but she cannot call herself a "journalist."
I am a fan over Dan Savage and his show in which he answers college student's sex questions, but I personally do not think there is a need for sex advice columnists. I am bit more conservative and I just feel sex is already put out to the public eye in college, there is no need to write about it. I think it is a trending topic because it is easy to write about, but I think its hard to give advice on the topic. Everyone and there partner is different, there is no way advice given is accurate. I think her article is a waste of time.
I feel like sex columnists are fair game just like any other columnist. Sex is an intriguing subject that people definitely want to read about. Of course, it would only be posted in certain medias, but I don't see a problem. If they can put half-naked ads in the back of newspapers glorifying strip clubs, than I don't see why this is a problem.
I think media outlets focus on sex simply because sex sells. Sex is a very common denominator that mostly we all share, and people want to hear about it. There's a reason why 'sex sells'.
Also, I don't think that we're wasting our journalistic resources by over-covering the subject, there is plenty of journalists to go around. The more, the merrier.
What a garbage column. It is only written to shock, scandalize, and get page views. There is nothing informative about this kind of journalism, and frankly it's kind of ridiculous to even think there is anything informative about having sex ON a college campus.
As far as sex columns themselves though, they really don't need to be that explicit for the most part. You want to talk about sex, fine, we all do it, but when you get into graphic detail about it, you're not writing much different from say, an erotic novel that someone can get from a book store.
Sex columns are an interesting beast, but there is no particularly good reason for them to be explicit unless you want to be especially controversial, or are looking for some specific audience that consists mostly of voyeurs.
Although this article may be garbage or tasteless, I do believe that sex columns do and can make good journalism. Journalists should be able to write about things that are interesting and relevant to the reader, and to some people, what's more interesting than sex? Think of Cosmo magazine. They devote hundreds of pages to sex, and they have plenty of readers. Sure "sex sells" but it can also fascinate people and teach them things that they may have otherwise not know or be too embarrassed to find out by themselves.
Sex is a highly relevant topic in society so I think it is a subject that should be discussed by journalists. But there will always be journalists that make mockeries of the topics they cover by writing poor and uninformative articles and this is the case with Cho's column. As long as sex columns are well written, informative, and thought provoking they are worthy of publication.
Whether we like it or not, sex is a topic that everyone can relate to. Children are naturally curious to this topic, and adults continue to search on how to better themselves in this area. Sex is a very intimate and private topic, and may be difficult to ask questions or advice to our friends and family in fear of being seen as inadequate. Sex columnists allow for easy, anonymous answers to questions that much of society has. As to the question of whether we need another columnist, I also support this. It is always great to get as many opinions as possible when making any sort of decision, and having a variety of answers can help tailor this decision to an individual life. Everyone will eventually learn about sex, and sometimes it is not in the manner that parents wish. Whether they like it or not, the media and internet are full of sexual innuendo, and it would be almost impossible to hide children from this.
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